Learning platforms 🇬🇧 Bedford, United Kingdom Since 2013 4.0 · 118 ratings

Studybugs

Free app for parents to report child sickness absence, with attendance tools for schools.

Visit studybugs.com All companies
UK schools and alternative provisions registered, according to Studybugs
6,000+
absence reports processed a year, according to Studybugs
1.5M
average employees in 2025, company accounts
29
downloads on Google Play
100K+

About Studybugs

Studybugs is a UK service where parents report that their child is ill and off school, and schools manage attendance. Parents use the free Studybugs app or the website, and the school gets the report along with official UKHSA guidance on whether the child should stay at home. Studybugs says more than 6,000 UK schools and alternative provisions are registered and it processes about 1.5 million reports a year. The core platform is free for schools, and Studybugs has agreed with the Department for Education to keep it free. Studybugs Limited, registered in England in 2013 under the name Sickly, also sells paid tools for registers, wellbeing alerts and parent meetings to schools, trusts and local authorities.

Studybugs connects parents, schools and public services around a child’s absence. A parent opens the app or the website, picks a child and describes the illness or symptoms. The school receives the report and records the absence. Studybugs shows official UKHSA guidance for certain illnesses and symptoms. Schools can send messages to parents for free and get alerts when a child is absent with a wellbeing concern such as anxiety.

The idea came after the child of one co-founder had scarlet fever and four doctors misdiagnosed it. A school friend had been ill with scarlet fever shortly before. The founders wanted data on which illnesses go around schools. The company was registered in England as Sickly Limited on 9 January 2013. Alex Lovelock-Wren, Jeremy Mabbitt and Joanna Mabbitt launched the service in April 2014. In September 2015 the Open Data Institute backed the project. In 2016 the company changed its name to Studybugs.

With parents’ consent, Studybugs shares anonymised illness data with schools, local authorities and researchers. It feeds data into the UKHSA syndromic surveillance system and has worked on studies of childhood asthma, stomach bugs, Covid-19 and mental health. Today it sells attendance and safeguarding tools to schools, multi-academy trusts and local authorities. In December 2025 it changed its logo and colours and set a new mission: to ensure every child’s welfare.

History

  1. 2013 Sickly Limited is registered in England on 9 January.
  2. 2013 The iPhone app appears on the App Store on 1 September.
  3. 2014 Alex Lovelock-Wren, Jeremy Mabbitt and Joanna Mabbitt launch the service in April.
  4. 2015 The Open Data Institute backs Studybugs in September to speed up its collection of open health data.
  5. 2016 Sickly becomes Studybugs. Companies House records the new name on 24 February, and the blog announces it on 4 April.
  6. 2016 The Inspire project on childhood asthma starts on 27 June with Brighton and Sussex Medical School, the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and Brighton & Hove City Council.
  7. 2019 Alex Lovelock-Wren and Joanna Mabbitt join Jeremy Mabbitt on the board on 12 February.
  8. 2020 In March Studybugs asks parents to keep reporting symptoms during Covid-19 school closures.
  9. 2023 Studybugs publishes a report on mental health absences in 2022/23, based on parents’ reports.
  10. 2025 A new logo, new colours and the mission “Ensuring every child’s welfare” arrive on 10 December.
  11. 2026 Accounts for 2025 show an average of 29 employees, up from 25 in 2024.
  12. 2026 Version 4.0.2 of the iPhone app comes out on 25 September.

Leadership

  • Jeremy Mabbitt Co-founder and director
  • Alex Lovelock-Wren Co-founder and director
  • Joanna Mabbitt Co-founder and director

Co-founders from the Studybugs about page. Companies House lists all three as directors of Studybugs Limited on 16 October 2026: Jeremy Mabbitt since 9 January 2013, the other two since 12 February 2019. Studybugs says the company is entirely owned by its staff and staff work from home.

How Studybugs works

reports a year
1.5M
typical parent uptake in the first term, according to Studybugs
70%
staff time a week freed per school, according to Studybugs
31 hours
  • Sickness absence reports
  • UKHSA health guidance
  • Identity check of the parent
  • Free group messaging
  • Live health alerts
  • Attendance alerts and dashboards
  • Wellbeing alerts
  • Pupil self-registration
  • Lunch choices
  • Video parent meetings
  • MIS sync
  • Anonymised open data

Products

  • Studybugs app for parents Parents report that a child is ill and off school in a few taps, also late in the evening. The app shows UKHSA guidance on staying off school and reminds parents to keep the school posted. For parents
  • Free messaging Schools send free instant messages to individual parents, classes, year groups and custom groups, and parents can reply. Free platform
  • Attendance Alerts tell staff about attendance triggers and patterns, for example when a vulnerable pupil is absent. Dashboards show pupil premium, FSM, SEN and persistent absence groups. Data syncs with the school MIS. Attendance
  • Registers Primary pupils tap their own picture to register and choose their lunch on an interactive whiteboard. Marks sync both ways with SIMS, Arbor, Bromcom and other MIS. Registers
  • Wellbeing Key staff get an alert when a parent reports an absence that mentions a wellbeing concern, with earlier reports for the same child. Wellbeing
  • Parent Time Video meetings between staff and parents. Teachers set their own slots, parents book them, and calls end at the set time. Several people can join from different places. Parent Time
  • For local authorities and trusts Local authority teams for attendance, safeguarding, SEND, alternative provision and virtual schools share live attendance data and actions. Trusts see attendance across all their schools. Local authorities

How much is Studybugs?

  • Parents £0/mo Free, app and website
  • Core service Free Platform £0/mo Free, for schools
  • Parent Time £30/mo About £30 a month, average-sized primary, licence by pupil numbers
  • Registers From £30 a class billing period not stated
  • Attendance On request book a demo

Is Studybugs free?

The app and parent accounts are free. The core platform for schools, with absence reporting and messaging, is free, and Studybugs says it agreed with the Department for Education to keep it free.

Prices on studybugs.com on 16 October 2026, in pounds. The Registers page does not state a billing period. Attendance and the local authority tools are priced on request.

How to delete a Studybugs account

Privacy notice
  • Studybugs account ↗
    1. Email deleteme@studybugs.com from the address on your account
    2. Studybugs deactivates the account
    3. After 30 days it deletes the account
  • You can restore a deactivated account within 30 days.
  • Schools and other users keep the messages you sent them.
  • Data that Studybugs processes for your child’s school stays with the school. Ask the school about it.
  • After three years without a sign-in, Studybugs emails you and then closes the account if you do not reply.

Refund rules

Parents
Studybugs Limited is the data controller for parents’ own accounts.
Schools
For school data, Studybugs is the data processor and the school is the controller.
Open data
Parents can opt out of sharing anonymised illness data.
Law
Terms under the laws of England and Wales, with claims brought in England.

From the Studybugs privacy notice and terms of use, checked on 16 October 2026.

Studybugs for schools

For schools
  • 01The core platform with absence reports and group messaging is free.
  • 02Each school gets a one-to-one attendance consultant on Attendance.
  • 03Data syncs with SIMS, Arbor, Bromcom and other MIS, and with most others through Wonde.
  • 04Bundle discounts for several products and group discounts for trusts and local authorities.

Parent Time costs about £30 a month for an average-sized primary. Registers costs from £30 a class. Prices on studybugs.com on 16 October 2026.

App ratings

Studybugs app

Price
Free
Developer
Studybugs Ltd
iPhone app since
1 September 2013
Requires
iOS 15.5 or later
Google Play installs
100K+

Is Studybugs worth it?

What parents like

What parents criticise

What parents write in reviews, not our rating. Studybugs has no Trustpilot page. The app is free for parents.

Latest news

  1. Introducing the new Studybugs: a bold look for a bold vision
  2. Mental health-related school absences: the 2022/23 report
  3. Keeping children with asthma healthy and in school
  4. We are Studybugs

Contacts and company data

Company number
08352917, England and Wales
Incorporated
9 January 2013, as Sickly Limited
Renamed
Studybugs Limited on 24 February 2016
Status
Active
Activity
SIC 62090, 63110, 72190 and 86900
VAT number
GB176769057
Employees
29 on average in 2025, 25 in 2024
Office
The registered office is not the business address, according to Studybugs

Alternatives to Studybugs

How we built this profile

  1. Sources. Facts come from the company’s own website, press room, imprint and careers page, from Wikipedia, the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot. Every source is listed on the page.
  2. Checks. Kinescope checked every number on 16 October 2026. Prices, ratings and job counts change, and we refresh them with each update.
  3. Our words. Descriptions are written by the Kinescope team. Quotes from reviews are marked with the author and source, and we do not rate the company ourselves.
  4. Corrections. The company can send new facts or corrections, and we update the profile.

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Studybugs FAQ

Studybugs is a UK app and website where parents report that their child is ill and off school. The school receives the report and records the absence. Schools also use Studybugs to message parents and to track attendance and wellbeing. Studybugs Limited in England runs it.

Go to studybugs.com/signin or open the Studybugs app. Enter your email and password, or sign in with Apple, Facebook, Google or Microsoft. If you set up two-step sign-in, enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app. Use Forgotten your password on the sign-in page to reset it.

Yes. The app is free on the App Store and Google Play, and you can register for a free account at studybugs.com/register.

The core platform with absence reporting and group messaging is free. Studybugs says it agreed with the Department for Education to keep it free. Registers costs from £30 a class, Parent Time about £30 a month for an average-sized primary, and Attendance is priced on request.

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